Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Lowered to $20.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $21.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ARCC. Capital One Financial set a $22.50 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.13.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $18.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.91.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 444.4% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ares Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 (annualized yield ~9.8%), reinforcing its high-income profile that attracts yield-focused investors. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Management signaled record originations of $15.8B for 2025 and said dividend stability is being maintained — a supportive operational update for future income generation. Originations Article
• Positive Sentiment: Core metrics: Q4 total investment income rose and core earnings roughly matched/edged past consensus (reported EPS ~$0.50–$0.517 depending on source), which lifted the stock on the report. Earnings Reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and transcripts (earnings call, slide deck) provide transparency on portfolio performance and exit activity; useful for modeling but not an immediate catalyst. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector note: Ares BDC says its software loan book remains healthy despite AI-related concerns — alleviates a potential sector-specific credit worry. Loan Book Article
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its price target from $21 to $20 (keeps an overweight rating). The cut narrows analyst upside and may have contributed to selling pressure. Wells Fargo Note
• Negative Sentiment: Despite income strength, headline revenue narrowly missed consensus and headline EPS was roughly flat year-over-year, which can prompt profit-taking by traders after the initial post-earnings pop. Revenue Miss Article

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.